title: The spinal cord in lightning injury: a report of two cases.
abstract: We present 2 patients in whom the predominant neurological complication following lightning strike was spinal cord injury. One patient, who was followed for 5 years, showed clinical, electrophysiologic and MRI evidence of cervical spinal cord injury. This patient had significant recovery, which in part, may be related to early and intense rehabilitation. The second patient presented with the symptoms and signs of spinal shock which then evolved into a myelopathy. Follow-up several months later showed almost complete resolution of symptoms. These patients demonstrate that the prognosis of spinal cord injury complicating a lightning strike may not be uniformly poor.
authors.affiliation: New Jersey Neuroscience Institute/Seton Hall University at JFK Medical Center, Edison, NJ 08818, USA.
authors.forename: Sowmya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lakshminarayanan
authors.forename: Sudhanshu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chokroverty
authors.forename: Noam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eshkar
authors.forename: Raji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grewal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D015168:Lightning Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000209:etiology*